Mainland Southeast Asia

While the film industries of the countries of mainland Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam) are all distinct, their films and histories do have numerous points of contact, and can be partly understood in regional terms. For example, the films share reference to a common and often tumultuous regional history and a common terrain, and many of them possess themes that bespeak the regional sway of Theravada Buddhism, as well as the former influence of Western colonizers and/or allies. More recently, the industries have all partaken of international financing opportunities and have been influenced by the availability of new, lower-cost video technologies for production and distribution of films.